Bombshell
by malic124
Summary: John Adams Foster is dealing the revelation that a boy named Jack is his twin brother, who he never knew about.
1. Revelations

John and Stef led Jack to the kitchen so they could talk some more. While John and Jack were sitting down, Stef hurried back into the living room to grab Lena and tell the other kids that they were going to postpone the movie for a bit while they had a conversation. Once Stef and Lena were sitting in the dining room with John and Jack, John finally spoke for the first time.

"You're my twin brother?" he asked, sounding baffled at the thought.

Jack nodded. "I know it's hard to understand, but yes, I'm your twin brother."

"How can that be?" John asked. He turned to Stef. "Did you know about me having a twin?"

Stef shook her head, looking as equally shocked as John. "Your Mom never said anything about it, Love. I had no idea."

John turned back to Jack. "Are you sure you have the right person?" he asked. "I mean, I know we look alike, but how can you be sure that you found the right person?"

"My adoptive parents heard about your book," said Jack. "They saw that it was authored by 'John Foster,' and they knew that was the name given to my twin. So they looked you up on the Internet and found you on Facebook. They took one look at your profile picture and immediately knew it was you."

"But how can you be for certain?" John asked, still not believing Jack's claim.

"We checked my adoption records," Jack said. "They said that Henry and Monica Foster gave birth to twin boys, John and Jack. They knew my adoptive parents couldn't have children and were good friends with them. So, they agreed to give one of their twins up for adoption to let my parents have a child of their own. It was a closed adoption, and our parents never told anyone about it, John. That's why none of you knew about me."

John, Stef and Lena were all taken aback by these revelations. They remained silent for several seconds before one of them spoke again.

"How come John has never seen you?" Stef asked. "If your parents were best friends with my sister and brother-in-law, didn't that mean you lived close to them?"

"They did," Jack said. "But, a year after John and I were born, my father got a new job in Los Angeles and we moved there. This is the first time we've been back in San Diego since then."

"How did you know we were in San Diego?" Lena asked.

"We saw John's interview on _News Night_ a few days ago. My Dad is a lawyer and he did some searching around before he found out about John's adoption and eventually figured out where you all live. He and my Mom asked if I wanted to at least meet my twin, since I always used to ask about him when I was younger, so I said yes. So, we came here and I just wanted to meet you, John."

"Well, I'm glad I've gotten to meet you, Jack," John said. "It's just a shock, all of this. I can't believe my parents kept all of this from me and they didn't tell anyone about me having a twin."

"I'm sorry to drop a bombshell on you like this," said Jack, looking worried.

"No, no," John said. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad that you came, actually. I'd like to get to know you, if you're going to be around for a little while."

Jack nodded. "We'll be staying here for a few days, a little family vacation. I'd love to have coffee with you and just get to know you."

John turned around, pulled out a pen and piece of paper from the drawer behind him and scribbled something down on it, passing it to Jack.

"That's my phone number," John said. "We'll set something up in a day or two. We've got some family plans tonight."

"Of course, I understand," Jack said. "I really should get back to my parents so we're not late for dinner with some other friends.

"It was really nice to meet you, Jack," John said, standing up and shaking Jack's hand. Jack smiled at him.

"I'm glad I finally got to meet you, John," Jack said. "I'll text you soon."

With that, Jack turned and left the kitchen, headed toward the front door. He turned around and waved at John and the others in the kitchen before he left.

John turned to Stef and Lena, at a loss for words.

"Are you OK, John" Lena asked.

"I don't know," John replied. "I just can't believe my parents would have had a twin and would never have told me about him."

Stef nodded. "I know, Love," she said. "It can be hard to understand people's motivations for things, but you have to remember, everyone has choices to make."

"You still have all of my parents' old things, don't you?"

"Yeah, they're up in the attic," Stef said. "Why?"

"I think I'm going to look through it tomorrow, to see if maybe there's something in there that says something about Jack. Maybe it will help me realize that what he's told me is true."

Stef and Lena nodded. "Whatever you need, Love," Stef said, smiling at him.

John grinned. "I think we should get back to the movie," he said, standing up and walking back to the living room. Stef and Lena remained behind for a few seconds.

"What do you think?" Lena asked.

"I think John just needs some time to process this," Stef said. "And I think he should get to know his twin. Jack is family to him, after all."

Once Stef and Lena had reentered the living room, they turned the TV and DVD player back on to start the movie. While it was loading, Jude and Connor turned to John.

"So what was that all about?" Jude asked. "Is that boy really your twin?"

"That's what he says," John said.

"Do you think he is?" asked Connor.

"He does look a lot like me," John admitted. "I am going to get to know him a little bit, to see if we're anything alike. And tomorrow, I'm going to look through some of my parents' old things to see if there's anything in there about Jack. I just hope I find _something_.


	2. Secrets Unveiled

John walked into the kitchen, where Stef was enjoying a cup of coffee and flipping through the newspaper.

"Morning, Mom," John said, sitting down across the table from her.

Stef looked up from the newspaper. "Hey, Love, how'd you sleep?"

"OK," John said, pouring himself a cop of coffee and taking a sip. "No weird dreams for the first time in forever." He and Stef chuckled at that. "Which is surprising, given what Jack told me yesterday."

Stef nodded. "That was a lot to take in all at once, John," she said. "You handled it well."

"I just hope that box has something in it that will tell me about him."

"Do you want me to help you find it?" Stef asked. "I know that attic can be a pain to search for stuff. I'm pretty sure I still know where it is."

"That would be great," John said, standing up Stef and following her out of the kitchen and toward the garage. He helped Stef put the ladder under the entrance to the attic and Stef climbed up, opening the attic door. A cloud of dust blew past them, causing them both to choke on the air for a few seconds before it cleared. Stef walked up and glanced around before calling out to John.

"Can you get me a flashlight, Love?" she said. "Can't really see in here."

John turned to his left, grabbing the yellow flashlight from the table and tossing it up to Stef.

"Good catch," John said.

"Thanks, Love," said Stef. "I still got it."

John waited as he heard Stef shuffle around for a few minutes. At last, she called out to him again.

"I found it, John! I'll need some help bringing it down!"

"OK," John said, stepping onto the ladder about halfway up. He heard Stef dragging the box through the attic before seeing her head appear in the doorway. John stepped up closer to her to grab the box, holding it firmly in his hands.

"You got it?" Stef asked.

"Yeah," John said.

"OK, just take it slow as you climb down the ladder, I don't want you falling off of it."

John carefully stepped down the ladder, one step at a time. He slipped once, but managed to hold his grip onto the ladder and box. Once he was back on the ground, he put the box down, looked back up at Stef and gave her a thumbs-up.

"All good, Mom," he said. "Come on down."

Stef nodded and exited the attic, closing the door behind her before more dust could blow in their faces. John waited until she was back on ground level before helping her move the ladder back out of the way. He carried the box out of the garage and followed Stef back into the kitchen.

"Do you need any help, Love?" Stef asked when John had set the box down on the dining table.

"I'll be fine," said John. "I think I'd rather do this myself, anyway.

Stef nodded in understanding. "Let me know if you find anything," she said. "And try not to make too much of a mess," she added as she made to leave the kitchen.

"No promises!" John called back. Stef laughed sarcastically as John grinned to himself before turning his attention back to the box.

He used a pair of scissors to cut open the tape holding the box shut. Once the box was open, he put the scissors back into the drawer and started to pull items out of the box. A lot of it was personal items taken from his house after his parents died. There were some framed photos of John with his parents, his baby book and some old books he remembered seeing on his parents' bookshelf. Near the bottom of the box, he found an envelope. Curious, he pulled it out of the box and turned it over to its front. His name was written on the envelope.

Breathing fast, John opened the envelope and pulled out several pieces of paper. He set aside the official looking documents and settled on the paper that contained a handwritten note. He recognized the handwriting instantly; it was a note from his mother, Stef's sister.

 _Dear John,_

 _We hoped you wouldn't have to find out this way. But, in case something ever happened to us, we wanted you to find out the truth from us, somehow._

 _You'll notice these papers from the day you were born. And you will notice that it says two babies were born to us that day. And that's the truth we were never able to tell you about, John. You have a twin brother named Jack._

 _Jack's parents are dear friends of ours. We lived next door to them for five years before we decided to start having children. When they told us about their fertility issues, it broke our hearts. So we came up with an idea after we found out we were having twins: we would give our best friends a chance to love a son as their own._

 _When you and Jack were born, David and Margaret were right there with us. They were in the delivery room as both of you entered this world. As soon as they saw Jack, they fell in love with him. We knew that he was the twin we would give to our friends._

 _A year after the two of you were born, David got a new job in Los Angeles. That's why you don't remember your twin, John. But you two did see each other every day for that first year and you behaved just like twins should. We put a picture into this envelope as well for you to see. Jack was given one by David and Margaret._

 _We're sorry we had to tell you this way, John. Our plan was to tell the both of you on your eighteenth birthdays and let you two meet each other again. But, as fate would have it, things did not always go to plan, which is why we had to do it this way._

 _We love you, John. Take care of your twin for us. And for David and Margaret._

 _Love,_

 _Mom and Dad_

After finishing the letter, John put it to the side. He reached into the envelope and pulled out a photo. In it were two smiling babies sitting in the arms of his parents. A blonde woman — John thought she must be Margaret — was smiling in the photo, too, helping John's mother hold up the baby on the left. John grinned at the image and set it down on the table.

He then pulled out the records from his birth and read through them. They confirmed both Jack's story and his parents' letter. Fraternal twin boys, John and Jack, were born to Henry and Monica Foster on March 18, 1997.

Underneath the copy of his hospital records was a copy of the adoption papers signed by his parents and Jack's. It showed that Henry and Monica signed away their rights as parents to allow Jack's adoption, which was finalized three days after they were born.

Once he was finished reading through all of the papers, John started to pack up the box again. He kept the hospital and adoption papers, along with the letter and picture of him and Jack out of the box and set them aside for later. Just as he finished repacking the box, Jude walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," Jude said, smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," John said, smiling back at his brother.

"So, Mom said you were looking through your birth parents' box for any proof of what Jack said yesterday. Did you find any?"

John nodded. "I did," he said. "I found the hospital records from the day we were born, Jack's adoption papers and a letter from my parents, telling me everything. And there's this," John added, picking up the photo and showing it to Jude.

"That's Jack and I being held by our birth parents," he said, pointing at himself in the picture. "That woman holding Jack is his adoptive mother, I think."

"So, it's true? Jack is your twin?"

"It looks that way."

"How do you feel about it?" asked Jude, sounding concerned.

"You know, I'm not really sure how to feel, Jude," John said. "I'm relieved that I know for sure that Jack is my twin and he's not like some nutcase trying to get something out of me." At this, Jude giggled before John continued. "I just wish my parents would have told me, you know? This was a big secret to be kept hidden from me for so long."

Jude nodded in understanding. "Do you want to get to know him? Jack?"

"Yeah, I do," John said.

As if on cue, his phone made a message alert noise from his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a message from Jack.

 _Hey John, it's Jack. I'm hope you're OK. I didn't mean to barge in like that, but I really wanted to meet you. Would you still be down for getting coffee or something?_

"He wants to meet me for coffee," John said quietly.

"Are you going to?" Jude asked.

"I can't be rude," said John, glancing up at Jude. "Besides, I want to get to know him. He's family, after all."

 _Let's meet tomorrow morning at 10 for coffee. There's a place nearby where I live that's got great coffee. I'll text you the address._

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jude asked. "I mean, I get it if you don't want to."

John put a hand on Jude's shoulder, smiling at his brother's want to always be there for him.

"Thank you for the offer, Jude," he said. "But, I think I want to do this one myself. I want to get to know him on my own before I let him into my life."

Jude nodded and patted John on the shoulder before leaving the kitchen. John's phone buzzed again with a reply from Jack.

 _Sounds great. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting to know you._

John quickly typed a reply.

 _So am I._


	3. Meeting

John thanked the clerk at the cash register, who had just handed him his cup of coffee. He turned around and came face-to-face with Jack.

"Morning," Jack said brightly. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too," John said. "The coffee here is great. I'll get us a table while you order."

Jack nodded and approached the cash register while John walked past him and found a table. He sat down and took a sip from his cup before Jack joined him, a cup in his hand.

"Thanks for meeting me," said Jack. "I know it can't be easy, since you didn't know about me."

John nodded. "I looked through my…our parents' old things and found a letter they wrote me, explaining everything," he said, taking another sip of coffee. "They wanted me to know the truth in case anything ever happened to me. Did you know about me?"

"I did," Jack said. "About a year ago, I was working on a family tree project for school and found the adoption records. I asked my parents about it and they told me everything. I wanted to meet you right then and there, but they told me our birth parents had died and they hadn't heard what happened to you."

"And you didn't know until you saw me on _News Night?_ "

Jack nodded. "That's when I had my Dad look into it, while I bought your book so I could learn more about you. I read a little bit of it. Is it true, John? You were sexually assaulted before Stef and Lena took you in?"

"Yes, it's true, all of it," said John. "It was hard for me to be public about it, but I'm better know because of it."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. It couldn't have been easy to deal with that."

"Anyway," John said, taking another sip of coffee. "Enough about my woes from the past. What about you? I want to know more about my twin."

Jack smiled. "Well, like you, I have a love for writing, but I haven't written any books yet. Guess I'm not as dedicated as you," he said, chuckling with John. "But I'm also really interested in politics."

"Yeah?" said John.

Jack nodded. "I'm the president of our student council at my school, so I basically represent the entire student body and have meetings with the faculty on how we can make life better for all students."

"That's great, Jack," John said.

"I like to stick up for people who can't do so themselves," Jack said. "I'm kind of a bleeding heart liberal, if you think about it."

"We seem to share that in common, too," John interjected, smiling.

"Thank god. I was hoping I wouldn't have to turn you away from the Republican Party."

They both laughed before John spoke again.

"So, do you have any career aspirations yet?"

"I'm not really sure," Jack said. "I think maybe I'd like to help or serve people in some way with my career. Maybe get into politics or something similar. I haven't made up my mind yet," he said, taking one last sip of his coffee and setting his cup down. "How about you?"

"Well, I love writing, as you've probably already guessed," John said, causing Jack to laugh again. "I think that's something I'd like to do in my career. I've been thinking a lot about being a reporter recently. When I went to _News Night_ , I was given an application for their summer internship program, so I may do that this summer."

"That's awesome," Jack said before he hesitated.

"Something on your mind?" John asked.

"I was just wondering how you came to be Stef and Lena's son. I think it's great that you are able to be with family after what happened to our parents."

John nodded. "I understand," he said. "Well, after what happened with Loomis, I was having some trouble coping, like I said in the book. I eventually knew I had to go to someone for help, and Stef and Lena told me after our parents died that if I ever needed anything, to go see them and they would help me. So, I listened to them. Even though I was legally emancipated, I knew I couldn't handle it all on my own, so I went to live with them. And once I signed off on giving custody to them and nullifying my emancipation, they adopted me."

"I'm glad you have such a wonderful family like I do," Jack said. "After my parents told me about you and didn't know where you were, I began to worry about you. I'm glad I don't have to anymore."

John smiled at him. "They're your family, too, Jack. I've learned something while living with Stef and Lena and all of my siblings: blood doesn't make a family. Love does. And I'll say this now, Jack. You are my family. Nothing will ever change that."

"Thank you," Jack said, sounding close to tears. "I was so worried that you wouldn't want to know me. I'm so happy that you want me to be in your life."

John took one of Jack's hands in his own. "My family means everything to mean, Jack. You and your parents are my family. I would love to see you all as often as I can. I know I can't ask you to move down here, but visits back and forth will be enough."

Jack smiled as a phone buzzed from his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at a message. "It's my parents," he said. "We've got lunch scheduled with an old family friend in half an hour, so I better get going."

"I understand," John said. "I should probably get going to. Would you and your parents like to join us for dinner before you leave?"

"I'd love that," said Jack.

The two stood up. John stepped closer to Jack and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm glad you came into my life, Jack," he whispered into Jack's ear. "Thank you for coming back for me."

"Thank you for meeting me," Jack whispered back. "And for accepting me into your life."

The two broke apart before discarding their coffee cups and leaving the coffee shop, each headed in their own direction.

* * *

John walked into the kitchen, where Jude was pouring himself a glass of juice. Jude looked up when he heard John's footsteps.

"Hey!" he said jovially. "How did your meeting go?"

John smiled. "It was wonderful," he said. "Jack is a good guy. I think he and I are going to get along just fine."

"That's great," Jude said. "Are you going to see him again?"

"I'm planning on inviting him and his parents to dinner while they're in town. I want everyone to meet him."


End file.
